Status of Original Painting – For Sale

All prices are in Canadian dollars

Size: 13.25 x 20  inches

Price: Inquire

Medium: Watercolour on 300 lb Arches

Description:

Three Atlantic puffins are preening in the foreground, upstaging the spectacle of humpback whales cavorting in the distance. I enjoy painting puffins –improbable looking, colorful, tuxedo-clad – but also humpback whales as they wave their pectoral fins, blow, breach, and splash. This view from a cliff makes these diminutive sea birds seem massive, but they are only about a foot tall whereas humpback whales can be up to 60 feet in length.

The whale furthest away is said to be spyhopping rather than breaching. It means the whale is coming vertically out of the water, seemingly just to look around. Conversely, the whale on the right is coming out in a typical breach that will lead to a big splash. Why do whales breach? Possibilities include warning about danger, courting other whales, removing parasites, taking a deep breath, or simply playing. From what I’ve seen over many hours of watching whales, I like the idea that they’re just having fun.

Puffins can also be found in my paintings Intrepid Explorer, Hot Gossip, An Improbability of Puffins, Siblings and Puffin Perspective.

Humpback whales have been featured in There Be Whales Here!, Quiet Solitude,  A Bull in the Bay, Into the Depths, and Newfoundland Breach.